Gentle Thief
by meleander
Summary: Merlin is a thief that can't be contained. He is able to infiltrate any location, break from any binds and steal every treasure. But when he infiltrates Camelot to steal the dragon and the crowns of the prince and King, humiliating Morgana along the way and saving Arthur's life, things are going to get complicated. Merlin/Morgana.
1. The thief and the princess

**This is a try run, i hope you will like it, please post reviews what do you think about it.**

"Lady Morgana, look, it's Arthur, he caught him!", exclaimed Morgana's handmaid, Guinevere. She never had to explain who was she talking about. Young, black haired, blue eyed, handsome thief was terrorizing the nobles across the lands. There was no vault safe enough. No lock he couldn't open. No lady, no wife and no daughter he wouldn't court. Nobles and knights were in panic, multiplying their guards, offering handsome bounties for captured and delivered thief. Yet no one was able to catch him. Until now. Young thief was beaten and in shackles, dragged after prince's horse, trying to keep up with it's speed.

Morgana glanced outside the window, curious. Merlin was news. He was so bold and outstanding that even the king almost forgot he was in the middle of the purge. And now king of Camelot, Uther Pendragon ordered a feast. The notorious thief was caught and would be hanged in public first thing tomorrow morning.

"He's kind of handsome", smiled Guinevere, following stumbling over his own legs beaten Merlin, who was binded and surrounded by Camelot soldiers, while being dragged to the castle.

"He's beaten and he is dragging his feet", smirked Morgana, not knowing what her handmaid was seeing in the dirty fellow beneath her windows. "You sure it's not legends that makes him handsome?", laughed young lady Morgana.

"My lady", her handmaid cleared her throat, "don't tell me you're not feeling excited. He's..."

"... soon not to be anymore", interrupted her mistress, putting her hand on Gwen's shoulder, chuckling. "Oh, Gwen, you can't fall for any famous prince, even if he is the prince of thieves, now please, help me prepare for tonight's feast, i want to look stunning."

xXx

"This time you're going to answer for your crimes", Arthur pushed young, slender man who had his hands in heavy, cold shackles to small cell with one inmate. Young prince closed the bars and walked away, leaving Merlin laying on the ground. Few guards stayed, watching Merlin, who turned to them.

"Greetings my brave warriors", young thief grinned to them. The soldiers glanced at him, unsure if they should talk to him, but in the end their curiosity prevailed. They moved closer to the bars, watching black haired boy.

"So they caught you at least", one of them smirked.

"Yes, unfortunately, your prince was too big of a match for me", smiled sadly Merlin, looking at the five Camelot's guards. "I underestimated Camelot and it's soldiers", Merlin complimented their country, watching them beam with confidence.

"Yeah, we're not dumb Mercians to be robbed of our king's crown and do nothin bout that", chuckled the biggest of the guards with rotten teeth and possible the stupidest.

"Certainly you are not, my lords", exclaimed Merlin, "i even heard you caught and imprisoned the dragon", he gave them excited look.

"Yea, king Uther locked it up, just like you in the lowest...", said the biggest of the guards before being shut up by others.

"And what it is to you, you damn thief?", asked another before his eyes widened in shock, seeing as Merlin just stood up leaving the shackles on the ground. His hand quickly slipped into his breaches and produced small ball he threw near guards feet. The slimy ball exploded and the guards inhaled, falling asleep.

"I always wanted to steal a dragon", Merlin's eyes glowed orange and the locks on the bars opened.

Merlin didn't had trouble finding the dragon's cave. He stripped one of the guards, taking his clothes and explored the dungeons, looking for the dragon until he found him two hours later. Great beast flew down to the rock watching young thief.

"So, i am here, as promised", smirked Merlin, looking at the great beast, "but i have to admit, speaking in my mind with a dragon was something new."

"Greeting, Merlin", dragon bowed his head, "thanks for coming to my aid."

"Let's talk business", interrupted him Merlin, waiting.

"Merlin, i am ashamed, bu i have tricked you into coming here. I don't have anything to offer to you but my gratitude. Also, i need to tell you of a prophecy, you are the promised one, who will help Arthur Pendragon to unite all the lands and the magic to return."

"So...", Merlin glanced at him in disbelief, "no riches then?"

"No, unfortunately..."

"Oh, ok, bye then", Merlin lifted his hand and walked out of the cave.

"WAIT! Where are you going?", roared dragon, when Merlin turned his back to him. "Merlin!", roared dragon. "Merlin! Come back here! Merlin!"

xXx

"How it's possible that Merlin escaped!", roared furiously Uther. "Lady Helen of Mora is coming to today's feast and Merlin escaped my prison! I will be the laugh of all, like the Mercia when Merlin robbed their king of his own crown!", shouted the king, terrified that he would share similar fate in the future.

Lady Morgana was following the king with her icy blue eyes, smiling to herself. Being confined in castle premises was boring. Because Uther didn't have the queen the court lacked ladies. Even those ladies who were present were mostly shallow or focused on the much more pressing matters that consisted entirely of looking for future husbands and flirting with the knights.

But Morgana wanted more. She learned how to ride and how to use a sword. She even beat Arthur once who was a future crowned prince and a possible future king. She smiled to herself. Now something interesting was happening. Guards running around in panic. Four soldiers who were guarding Merlin were in stocks due to their incompetence.

Morgana excused herself and quietly removed herself from the coronation room. She wanted adventure and right now the thief was roaming through the castle. She would be the one to catch him and no one was going to take that pleasure from her. She quickly changed to her travelling clothes, put the parts of the armor, the sword and a cloak over herself, so no one would see what she was wearing under. She sprinted from her room, only to rush past slim, blue eyed, black haired guard, who tripped her. She fell to the ground with loud grunt. The guard who made her fall apprehended her quickly from behind, forcing her to the ground.

"I found the thief, i have found Merlin, quickly, come!", his hands forced the cloak on her head to wrap around her face, blocking the air, strangling her, so she wasn't able to breath.

Few other soldiers arrived, helping the one behind her.

Merlin let them kick her ribs and after she stopped struggling he swiftly dispatched himself, allowing the rest of the guards to drag the cloaked person to the king.

Xxx

Gaius looked at beaten up Morgana who was laying at her bed, paining. Thanks to her armor her ribs weren't broken, but they still hurt badly. Her face was saved because of the person who was strangling her. His hands were wrapped around his head, not allowing her to scream and in the same time defending her beautiful face from the rest of the guards. Still, her legs and her arms were in bruises and she was pissed.

"That... ugh... bastard", hissed with her teeth clenched Morgana, feeling excruciating pain with every breath she took.

"Shh... don't talk Morgana, your ribs were nearly broken", Gaius tried to calm her down, but without much luck. Morgana wasn't caring so much for her body as for her pride. She was humiliated in public, when the guards dragged her before the king and showed her face. She was ridiculed before the court, before Arthur and her own handmaid, who were looking at her with wide open eyes. Uther was furious. He almost executed his own guards on the spot. If not for Arthur, who restrained him, the king would massacre fooled guards as they were standing with his own hands.

"Leave... me...", hissed Morgana, whispering. When they tried to oppose she glared at them and they left, leaving her alone. She exhaled, feeling the pain coming from her chest, as her ribs moved.

"I thought they would never leave", Merlin came from his hiding behind one of the curtain, stretching his back. Morgana's eyes widened, as he walked to her bed, smiling. "Good thing i protected your face, you're really beautiful." He sat nonchalantly on her bed, watching her with mischievous grin.

"Guards...", whispered Morgana, feeling her ribs exploding with pain. She tried to shout again, but Merlin lifted his hand and she swallowed, watching him anxiously.

"You see, your ribs hurts too much for you to properly scream", he smiled, looking at her with his blue, deep, warm eyes.

"You... bas... tard...", whispered Morgana, furious, trying to get up.

"No no, lay down my beautiful", Merlin's hand pushed her down and she grunted with pain. "It seems that stealing the most beautiful gem from this country will be much harder then i thought", he winked to her, getting up, still wearing guard's clothes.

"You...", she hissed and stopped, watching him with wide eyes when he produced some sort of vial and forced her to breath the flavour coming from it. His hands struggled for a moment with hers before she gave up, breathing in. She didn't smell anything, but she felt her body relax and her eyes close.

xXx

Merlin changed his attire so now he was resembling a simple servant. He moved near the prince and the king, trying to not be seen. Most of the people never met him and didn't know how he looked like. Unfortunately for him Arthur have seen him. But Uther never did. The guards who saw him were now looking for him outside the castle or guarding lady Morgana's room.

_Merlin, listen to me!,_ roared dragon's voice inside his head. Merlin sighed. He didn't know how to block his voice. At least not yet. He ignored dragon's callings and moved near the pillar, watching for good occasion. He knew the party will make people relaxed and then he will be able to snatch the two things he needed for his grand collection.

Melrin wasn't usual thief. He had magic, but he worked very hard to hide that. He knew that people would underestimate him, not knowing he had actual magical powers and would treat him as a very talented thief. Nothing more. He smiled to himself. If only the guards would knew that he used his magic to open the shackles. And if only everyone would know the real reason why he came to this kingdom. As a thief, Merlin was bored. He practiced so hard, that even without his magical powers there would be only a few as skilled rogues as him. So he made a bet with his friends, as to who would steal more crowns. Right now, each of them had about three. Merlin had four crowns already. And today, he would have two more.

Strange song interrupted his thoughts. He looked around and saw the singer, beautiful middle aged woman singing and moving towards the king. He felt his magic buzzing, protecting him from the magical enchantment, realizing that everyone beside him and the singer has fallen asleep. He watched the singer unsheath her long knife, raelizing what was about to happen. He walked from behind the pillar, crossing her way.

"I'm sorry, m'lady, but no killing today", he winked to her, standing between her and Arthur. "You see, i want to steal their crowns and i can't steal them if they are dead. That would be plundering the graves. So... whoa!", he felt her power throwing him at the wall behind the prince. Her old looks returned, as she wasn't able to hold this many spells at once.

"Wow, you're ugly", Merlin stood up and his eyes glowed gold, pulling heavy chandelier above her down, slamming her to the ground. She screamed and her song stopped, releasing everyone from the spell. Uther momentarily stood up, watching the wretched creature, who lifted it's hand.

"Feel the pain of losing your only child!", screamed old woman. Her eyes glowed gold and her knife plunged from the ground, shooting itself in the prince's direction.

Merlin's eyes glowed gold, as he slowed time's flow and he grabbed Arthur, pulling him to his left. Arthur grunted, falling loudly to the ground, as the knife plunged into the wooden chair.

"Thank... Merlin!", shouted Arthur, still confused.

Uther stopped in half step to his son, eyeing his son's saviour, confused.

"My crown!", squealed Arthur when Merlin sprinted out of the room, leaving everyone behind, holding Arthur's crown in his right hand.

**So what do you think, does this have any potential to attract readers? Merlin is much more mischievous and dark, but he is also much smarter and used to his powers. Also i like that he is much cooler then in the TV show. I will also add romance between the Merlin and Morgana.**


	2. The mischief continues

**First i wanted to thank you for the reviews. They were awesome! :) I tried to respond to them by writing pm to you so i won't be commenting them here. But thanks to them i decided to continue this story and i hope i won't disappoint your expectations!**

**So here is another chapter and as promised i will give you some Merlin/Morgana action ;) There will be also some Merlin/Arthur but no bromance. At least not in a way you could think it would have happened. Read and enjoy :)**

Morgana watched Merlin as he slowly descended to the crypts under Camelot. She smiled to him waiting in the back of the underground room in the slim light of few torches and standing still, wearing one of her most fabulous green dresses with enticingly plunging neckline showing some part of her eye-catching breasts.

"Morgana", greeted her Merlin walking to her, wearing bronze high boots, dark, tight pants and yellow-gold shirt having black and gold colored coat looking like a young prince himself.

"Merlin, i wanted to thank you properly for saving Arthur's life. He is like a brother to me and i am grateful for what you did", she smiled coquettishly lifting her hands to her full, comely breasts placing them near her heart. "It wasn't easy to contact you. I needed to leave information out in the open", she gave him a skittish look, "and i feared you wouldn't come."

Merlin stopped before her. His deep, blue eyes met hers and his hand took hers by her delicate fingers, slowly lifting it to his lips. She felt his warm kiss on her fingers and shuddered as he never broke the eye contact.

Morgana felt some kind of tension rousing between them. She forced herself to retreat her fingers from his hand. She was still furious about the beating she got because of him and how he humiliated her. Not even once someone humiliate her. No one even dared. She was a king's ward. The lady Morgana. Most beautiful lady in the entire kingdom. The object of every man's fantasy.

Morgana was going to show this peasant, this little pathetic thief his place. She was going to make him pay for what he did to her and regain her honor. She wasn't going to allow some lowly thief to treat her like an equal. Morgana was good people. She often fought with Uther because of the atrocities he had been committing. She has been helping the poor and never abused her position as a high born lady. But she had her boundaries and he crossed them. Heavily.

"I hope you're feeling better, m'lady", smiled Merlin and produced a single red rose almost from a thin air and presented the beautiful flower to her.

She chuckled taking the rose with her delicate hands while smiling to herself. She glanced discretely to the sides where Arthur positioned his guards. She almost regret that this meeting was going to such a quick and drastic end. Merlin was working on her and she needed to admit, he was doing a pretty good job. He made her laugh and blush more then once. Morgana had many suitors, but never before she felt interested in any of them. This time she could feel herself being attracted to this semi handsome youngster. She realized that the man who stood before her wasn't her suitor. He was just courting her, playing with her. She closed her eyes feeling the reality sinking in.

"I'm sorry Merlin, but i won't be swayed by the words of someone whose only intention is another trophy", she caught herself putting her hands on his muscular chest while he embraced her. Morgana eyes widened when she realized that her actions contradicts with her words. "N-no... wait..", she stumbled over her own words as Merlin seized the moment and... her, going for a kiss.

Morgana's lips met Merlin's and they struggled in passionate embrace, trading long, sensual kisses. She gasped, feeling her legs nimble and her will weaken. The thought that Camelot's soldiers with Arthur leading them could find them in this situation was arousing her even more. She felt her body like it was on fire, burning with ecstasy. She pushed him away, breathing heavily, excited, aroused, closing her eyes, gasping the air with her opened lips. Her hands clenched on his chest around his coat while she was recovering from his kisses.

"I have something for you", he leaned and whispered to her ear making her shudder. She gasped seeing Arthur's crown appear in his capable hands. Merlin presented her the prince's crown, smirking mischievously. Her delicate hands tightened around the golden circle. Morgana's icy blue eyes found Merlin's, confused.

"Maybe we could meet again?", asked politely Merlin moving to the side, showing her that he's done with her for the moment.

She blinked, shocked and enraged. No one ever showed her such disrespect. She was violated against her will and told off. She walked out hastily, enraged, gripping the crown with so much force her fingers became white.

Morgana stumbled over someone, realized in the last moment that few Camelot soldiers were laying on the floor soundly sleeping. Her face went pale as she realized why Arthur never came as planned. Merlin knew from the beginning it was a trap and played her like a fiddle. Morgana hurried down barging to the underground crypt, but Merlin was long gone.

xXx

"Damn... you're... huff... heavy...", Merlin walked inside the cave and dropped Arthur's sleeping body to the ground.

"Merlin. What are you doing", hissed dragon, looking at the young prince lying at the ground. "Why Arthur is here?"

"You either talk to us both or you won't talk to any of us", Merlin bound Arthur's hands and legs with some rope and hit him in the face, "and not a word about my magic", he slapped Arthur's face again.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes. His face showed pain similar to those people have after hungover when he tried to focus on the person before him. Young prince blinked realizing his arms and legs were immobilized and Merlin was slapping his reddening face. "You bastard! You son of a dog! You shitworm! How dare you kidna...", Merlin sighed and stuffed Arthur's mouth with the gag.

"I prefer the word stole. It is more refined this way", explained Merlin, "I stole the Camelot's prince the same way i did steal your crown which i returned to the lady Morgana. Now i will take out the gag and we will talk like the grown ups." Merlin took the gag out of Arthur's mouth and moved to the back allowing him to see the dragon who was anxiously watching them both.

"You bas..." Arthur's eyes widened when he saw the mighty beast laying on a rock before him, watching him. Arthur tried to crawl back to the entrance, but Merlin stepped on his legs with his right leg and pushed his weight on it pinning young prince's legs to the rocky ground.

"Where are you going Arthur?", smirked mischievously Merlin leaning over laying prince. "You're a naughty dinner. I hope you are a virgin at least."

Arthur's eyes widened showing fear. He struggled under Merlin's foot, but wasn't able to crawl forward anymore.

"Guards! Guards! Help! Guards!", screamed terrified Arthur wriggling at the floor, pinned by Merlin's weight. The black haired man above him started to laugh and the dragon joined him. They laughed for a few good minutes before Arthur realized that Merlin was joking. "Very funny", said with a grave voice pouting young prince.

"Ha ha ha ha", laughed Merlin, "if you only saw your face", for a moment Merlin's voice was drowned in the dragon's laugh, "i thought you're going to piss yourself", Merlin grabbed his belly not being able to stop his loud laugh. He and dragon both stopped almost in the same moment and wiped tears from their smiling eyes.

"Forgive Merlin, young prince", asked black dragon smiling. "What i am about to say is of great importance to you two. Although my plan was to reveal the prophesy only to Merlin he forced me to uncover the truth to the both of you." Great dragon paused for a moment watching Arthur. "May i continue young prince?"

Arthur glanced at the mighty beast trying to understand what was happening.

"You're a dragon. Dragon's were killed in the times of the great purge." Arthur's comment was more of a question then anything else.

"Yes, we could start with that", mighty beast closed it's eyes for a moment before continuing. The great dragon talked about the dragons and the dragonlords and how everyone fell to the king's treachery. Arthur was listening asking questions from time to time inquiring about the nature of their magic. "Does that confuse you, young prince?", asked great dragon. "My story must be different from the one you could have heard from your father."

"No" answered Arthur while Merlin just leaned his back against the crude, cold wall listening with his eyes closed and not showing any emotions on his slender face.

The dragon continued his story telling them about end of the dragons and the dragonlords. About the great purge and the consequences that befell upon everyone. Then he started to talk about the prophecies. How Arthur would become the one and future king of Albion and how Merlin would be the one to help him achieve that. How he the both of them would create a kingdom of freedom where everyone would be equal. Where everyone would live a safe, happy live. Where no one would be discriminated and everyone would be treated with dignity.

"That's... a lot you demand of me." Arthur breathed heavily not knowing what to say. Listening about the things the dragon said terrified young prince. Arthur always knew that someday he would need to become the leader of his people. He knew that he would need to be the one responsible for the lives of thousands if not ten of thousands. And now he felt like some heaviness fell on him not allowing him to breath. The amount of the wonders that if the prophecies were to be true he was destined to do was unreasonable big.

"Don't worry Arthur. I will be there to pick you up and save your life whenever you'll need me." Merlin never moved, yet his slow, calm voice calmed Arthur the moment he heard the young thief.

"Good grief", sighed Arthur. "Good thing my father don't know anything about this. He would faint." Arthur allowed himself a little chuckle.

"Better that then sitting on his privy and being guarded by ten men", smiled mischievously Merlin and opened his eyes. "Really, he was so scared about losing his crown that he had been shitting in the presence of the guards."

"Merlin! How dare you!"

"First lesson brat." Merlin poked Arthur's side with his bronze high boot. "I would be able to steal the crown anyway if i wanted. So if you want to abandon your pride in order to save your pride that means you lost your pride long time ago and there is nothing left to save. Your father never accepted that. So accept the truth Arthur. The world is like it is. Losing crown to me is like losing your crops due to a long, cold winter. There is no shame in it. There may be pain, but there is no shame. There is only the truth and what you will do afterwards in response. Your father was literally shitting in front of his own guardsmen. What would you do?"

Arthur glared at Merlin and if the look could kill Merlin would be dead from the moment he opened his mouth. Yet he was standing above the laying and bound Arthur waiting for his response.

"You son of a...", started Arthur, but Merlin interrupted him.

"How is this helping your situation Arthur? Before you acted right. You tried to move away from the danger and involve other people. And now? Being a brat again just because you think i can't hurt you anymore?" Merlin glared at Arthur and young prince shut up watching Merlin's eyes. There was coldness in them. Coldness and fury. For the first time in his live Arthur felt hypnotized by someone else's eyes. For the first time he felt like a prey. A prey that would lose no matter what would do. Like the moment Merlin decided to be serious about doing anything his fate would be decided.

Merlin's eyes left him and Arthur felt himself being able to breathe again. Young prince's muscle lost some of the tension he felt before and Arthur trembled. The little thing in Merlin's act made him scared, terrified. He couldn't say what, but there was something in this young thief that was making him dangerous. A hidden ruthlessness.

"I'm done for today." Merlin turned around walking to the entrance to the cave. "If you ever need me just call me, i should be near." He walked through the entrance, leaving Arthur bound and laying on the stone floor.

"Merlin! Unbound me!", screamed after young thief Arthur.

Merlin stopped and turned his head to the back smirking mischievously. "I'm sorry Arthur, but after taking into consideration our past i think i won't risk being caught by you. But i think a dragon could help you. You know," Merlin's eyes sparkled with joy, "he could try to burn the rope with his flames, i'm sure he won't miss", Merlin grinned, "you."

Arthur's eyes went wide as Merlin ended his sentence.

"No! Wait! Merlin!" Arthur struggled on the floor. "Merlin! I'm sorry! Please unbound me! Merlin! Merlin you slimy bastard! You ugly son of a whore! Merlin! Come back here! Merlin!"

**So what do you think? Merlin is darker and after spending some time i decided he will be having a dark secret from his past. I will reveal that shortly. Some of that will be revealed when Merlin will encounter Gaius. Also the truth about why Merlin decided to visit Camelot will come to the light. There will be also explained why Merlin became a thief. The story although a comedy will become a little darker. Please give me reviews what do you think about this chapter and my ideas! If you think if them as of no good, i will try to change some of them! :)**


	3. No one likes a smartass

**Because of the reviews i decided to write this chapter a little faster. Hope you'll enjoy, because i enjoyed writing the ending of this chapter very much ;)**

* * *

Gentle Thief

Chapter 3: No one likes a smartass

"Hello. Gaius." Merlin lifted his loaded crossbow to his waist targeting Gaius who just a moment ago closed the door and moved inside his chambers filled with books and medicines piling up on the bookshelves around the walls and on the tables. White haired, old man wearing only simple robe blinked, surprised and turned to the young thief who stood at the other side of the room, watching him.

"Oh, put that down." Old man walked to his table in the middle of the room and sat there trying to calm down his shaking from fear hands. His voice stumbled, but he put a strong front trying to hide his fear. "I sent the message to your father the moment i realized it was you at that party. You can torture me all you want, you won't be quick enough..." the sound of loosened string and hastily flying bolt filled the room silencing Gaius.

* * *

Morgana watched Arthur and massaged his burned wrists. When she heard he was alright she almost jumped from joy. She was distressed knowing that Merlin had captured Arthur and felt guilty about letting that happen. From what the guards told her Arthur jumped out from the dungeons screaming with his hands and legs on fire. Fortunately flames were small and no damage was done to the young prince besides hurting his pride. She glanced at the king who was circling restlessly around the throne room. His face was clouded and he was moving nervously debating himself. After few moments he turned to Morgana who watched him with curious eyes.

"Everyone leave." The king, Uther Pendragon glanced around with angry look and everyone beside Morgana, Arthur and the guards started leaving the throne room. "Only Arthur stays." Uther ordered his guards. "Only Gaius is allowed to enter."

"No!", Morgana stood up in protest, but before she was able to say anything one of the soldiers came in running.

"Sire, it's about the Gaius, he was attacked by Merlin and is..."

"I'm alright damn it!" Old man walked inside the throne room while followed by muscular and tall, plain looking bronze haired man wearing simple light bronze colored clothes. Young man had a loaded crossbow with him. His features were crude and made him look a little dumb.

"Gaius, it's an emergency Arthur was down in the dungeons." The king made his way to his old friend. "I fear he encountered..."

"My lord", Gaius interrupted his king and Uther blinked, shocked. No one interrupted him in a long time. He felt anger, but before he could react Gaius continued. "He's Balinor son, i fear he want to kill him to get a hold of his power. If not for this young man who saved my life..." Uther lifted his hand stopping Gaius.

"Morgana", he turned to the one of the few people who was still left in the room. "Go to your quarter and wait there." Morgana opened her mouth to oppose him, but the king only narrowed his eyes. "Leave now or i will use my guards."

Morgana closed her mouth. She stormed out of the throne room, furious at her guardian. She was being left in the dark once again. Treated like someone less worthy. Like she wasn't good enough to stay with them. And this time Arthur was able to stay. To be the part of Uther's council. She stormed into her own room crying. Gwen who was in the middle of cleaning her chamber paused, not knowing how to react.

"I hate them, i hate them", Morgana threw herself at her handmaid, hugging her.

* * *

Arthur looked around at the three man before him. His father, the king, Gaius, the court medic and William, the one who saved Gaius from Merlin.

"Who are you?", asked the king watching young lad closely.

"I'm a hunter, sire", answered William. His crossbow was taken by guards waiting outside the throne room.

"So how come you were near Gaius when Merlin decided to attack him?", asked another question Uther sitting on throne, giving the young hunter before his a suspicious look.

"I hunt for bounty, sire", answered young man bowing his head a little. His face was still not showing any emotions.

"And how did you know Merlin will be there?" Asked relentlessly Uther.

"Information is the part of my trade, sire. I need to earn my living, sire."

"I will pay you handsome." Uther lifted his hand like he was throwing coins to the air. Young hunter glanced at him, visibly bored. Uther felt his cheeks flushing red. "Wait until you're summoned then."

"Father, wait." Arthur stood up and measured young hunter with his blue eyes. "How long have you tracked Merlin?", asked Arthur.

"I can't answer that, i will be waiting outside the door", William bowed and exited the throne room.

"Means he can't say because he is already paid off." Uther sighed.

"Paid off?", asked Arthur, glancing between his father and king's medic.

"It means Arthur, if he had told us when he started to track Merlin we would easily match the time with one of Merlin's thefts. That would give us the information about this young lad employer", explained Gaius.

"Means he's a professional, he won't be swayed. Admirable for one that young. But there are still ways to go around." Uther turned his attention to his young son. "Gaius please look up Athur's wounds while he will explain what he was doing near the dragon." Uther's eyes showed anger when he glared at his son.

"Father, why you never told me about that?" Arthur felt hurt and angry. So things his own father hide from him. So many secrets he didn't have even an idea that could exist. "How can i know that there is something dangerous in the caves when i don't even know that our dungeons would be so big!"

"Arthur, don't you dare..." Uther stood up, but Arthur interrupted him, shouting.

"No, father! I talked to this dragon and he told me what you have done. You lied and you went back on your own word! You killed those people who came here hoping for a peace! How could you do that?!" Arthur also stood up, not even trying to stop his anger anymore.

"Arthur! That is a lie!" Uther waved his hand at him, furious.

"No, father! That is not a lie! How else you would imprison the dragon in our caves? With sword? This dragon is powerful enough to kill an army of men."

Uther slowly sat down. He sighed, knowing that he had lost completely. Arthur was too smart to be simply lied to. He felt pride. His son was growing and even if he was angry at him, he felt good because he knew that his son was becoming smarter.

"All right Arthur. I won't tell you about that, at least not yet but i will tell you why Gaius is so distressed. Maybe you will understand then." Uther lifted his hand in his friend direction and Gaius bowed his head.

"Sire." Gaius bowed to king and turned to the young prince who waited in anticipation. "Merlin is possible a son of the Balinor, the last of the dragonlords who could command dragons. It is well known that when the dragonlord dies, his son inherits his powers. Merlin tried to force me to reveal the knowledge of possible Balinor's stay." Gaius gave his prince a distressed look. "If Merlin kills his father and release the dragon it would mean the end of the world as we know it. We know the Balinor would never abuse his powers as a dragonlord but look at what Merlin has done to this point. He steals and endangers the people. He plays with their wealth and their lives."

"So what would you do Arthur?" Uther glanced at his son. He wanted to see his growth.

"I would catch Merlin and alert his father."

"That is wrong." Uther smiled to his son. "It's possible Balinor would come here to save his son or to see him. Fatherly love can be very... Gaius?"

"Uhm... sire..." Gaius shifted uncomfortably under king's look. "I may have already sent a message to warn him..."

"Damn it Gaius." Shouted angered Uther. "No choice then, i will personally make sure that he will be well protected. Now Arthur watch how we will use this bounty hunter to our advantage." Uther stood up and shouted. "Let the bounty hunter in!"

Young man slowly walked in, watching the king.

"We decided to let you stay on our premises and aid you in your quest. You can catch Merlin or kill him, as long as he will be gone from my kingdom i will be content. I will grant you a room inside the castle and allow you to easily move inside my kingdom. I will also designate some guides that will guide you through my kingdom." Uther glanced at the bounty hunter curious if he realized the true meaning of king's 'guides'. Those guides would report to the Uther and would insist on guiding young man everywhere. Besides if he was able to stop Merlin once, he would be able to do it again. Uther allowed himself to relax for a short moment. With this bounty hunter around he wouldn't need to be scared of Merlin and to be scared that Merlin would endanger any of people close to him. Morgana and Arthur would be definitely more safe with this man around then without him.

* * *

Arhtur walked inside the spacious cave looking for the dragon.

"Dragon! Show yourself!" Shouted Arthur. A moment later great dragon flew down and sit at the rock before the young prince.

"Arthur. I thought that it would take longer before you came back." Great dragon smiled warmly, welcoming young prince.

"Merlin wants to kill his own father who is a dragonlord to posses his powers." Shouted distressed prince, waving with his hands. "He tried to extort Gaius and only thanks to some bounty hunter who is after him we avoided the tragedy. Merlin is a ruthless killer and we need to stop him." Shouted Arthur anxiously watching the dragon, waiting for his response.

"What do you have to say for yourself Merlin?" Great dragon turned his curious face to the entrance and Merlin walked to the cave with a mischievous smirk on his face. Arthur moved back, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"You...", spat young prince, taking a step back when Merlin moved closer.

"Chill, young princess." Snickered Merlin and lifted his hands in a peaceful manner. "Right now your king is protecting with all his might the very person he was keen on killing just a few hours ago. You, Gaius, Morgana and the king are protected by one of the very few men that are able to keep up with me which is quite a feat. And all of that because they think that i am after the dragonlords might." Merlin let himself slip a quiet chuckle. "With only one rock i made your father", Merlin pointed his finger to the ceiling, "to ally himself with magic user, protected my father," Merlin pointed to himself, "protected you", Merlin's finger moved to Arthur, "taught you something new and created an opportunity for you to expand your power at the court and gain access to information that was hidden from you before. Am i awesome or what?" Grinned Merlin, cheerfully grinning.

Arthur let his hand fell from the hilt of the sword. He felt ashamed. Not only he never thought of a possibility of being played. He was sure that actions are what makes people who they are. And now he wasn't sure anymore.

"Don't worry Arthur." Merlin smiled warmly to him. "I suppose right now you feel deceived and confused." Young thief patted prince's shoulder with his right hand. "People sometimes do things so other would act in the way they prefer them to. Right now your father thinks he is playing a game. But little he know that while he plays the game with certain rules the other party just pretend to play the game, watching him from outside. What he does is easy to predict and easy to counter because the other party don't play by the rules." Merlin gave Arthur warm look. "Today's second lesson is that each lesson have another lesson within."

Arthur blinked, dumbfounded.

"Wait, that's stupid, what does it have to do with what you just told me?", Arthur glanced at Merlin giving him a confused look. "And shouldn't that be the first lesson?" Young prince snickered. "More general and all?" Arthur chuckled. At least he was able to return the favor and make fun of Merlin. "I've had many teacher but not even one was so..."

Merlin smiled. And produced a vial from his right sleeve putting it near Arthur's nose. Young prince sniffed before realizing what he had done and fell to the ground.

"Merlin! The hell?! I can't move my arms and legs!" Arthur's eyes widened as Merlin leaned over him and started to bind his legs and hands with a rope.

"Lesson number four, no one likes a smartass." Merlin calmly continued his work.

"Merlin! What the hell are you doing?! And what happened to number three?" Arthur tried to move but his body was still paralyzed.

"When in a bind", smirked Merlin, "use a dragon flame." Merlin turned to the cave's irregular exit.

"Merlin! Merlin! You son a...! Merlin!" Arthur wriggled feeling his body going back to normal. "Merlin! Don't leave me! Merlin! Goddammit! Merlin!"

"Oh don't worry Arthur, i'm suuuuure it's aim is soooo muuuuch better then yesterday", snickered Merlin and exited the cave, followed by Arthur's curses.

* * *

**So Merlin is showing that he is a little, dirty schemer. I also decided to invite new/old character. But i'm still battling myself if i want to create new story or just follow the tv series. Would be awesome to know what do you think about it.**

**I would also want to make an event for you, dear readers. I'm still looking for an arch enemy for Merlin, a person who would be able to give him a fight on equal footing. I will be waiting for your pm and reviews till sunday and then at Monday(european time) i will show two winners who will battle Merlin in my story alongside with a new chapter. **

**To spice things up there will be two winners. First winner will win by the most votes. The second will be the one with the best argumentation.**

**Also let's ban some characters from the vote. The list of banned characters are; Arthur and Gwen, Uther(too prejudiced), Gaius(never stroke me as a great schemer), great dragon(come on!) and Mordred(small child, besides already have plans for him). Also, the person needs to be from the first two seasons(eventually three if you can explain it), because frankly i still want the story to not stray from the tv show when in terms of timeline.**


	4. Unexpected

**So here's new chapter, just as promised!**

**As always i answered your reviews by pm'ing you. But anyway, thanks for the reviews and private messages! Please review me more! ;)**

**Now about last event! I want to thank everyone who took part! For the most of the time Nimueh and Morgause were fighting for the first place and in the end Nimueh won!**

**Nimueh – 4 votes!**

**Morgause – 2 votes.**

**Sophia/Aulfric – 2 votes.**

**Edwin – 1 vote.**

**No one tried Tauren which was strange to me, bucause i think of him as an interesting enemy. Now, the second winner is Edwin, who won by best argumentation. The argument was that Edwin was able to learn magic even when being totally alone and on the run. None the less, he was able to infiltrate Camelot and manipulate Merlin. And the one who though about him was Tolleren. I would never thought of using him, but Tolleren was able to ignite my interest.**

**So one more time thank you for taking part in my event! And the winners: Nimueh and Edwin!**

* * *

Gentle Thief

Chapter Four: Unexpected

Arthur glanced at the young bounty hunter, who was cleaning one of his unique crossbows with a look of intense concentration on his face, completely losing himself in his work. Arthur coughed, trying to get his attention, but to no result. The hunter was sitting on a chair in Arthur's chamber silently fussing over his heavy, uniquely built crossbow. Arthur glanced at the soldier who accompanied William. The young soldier's face flushed red and he moved nearer to the hunter and coughed. The hunter intimidated the guards of Camelot with his creepy silence and strange inclination to crossbows. He would often just sit silently cleaning or checking one of his many weapons. He would reload them, check the mechanism, then reload them again. He was constantly touching his crossbows, focussing on every part of its machinery. He would ignore everyone with the exception of the king. But even when the king was trying to strike a conversation, the hunter would only respond with three of the following: Yes, no, or I don't know and add 'sire' at the end.

The soldier lifted his hand, but before he was able to touch the young hunter on the shoulder, the mechanism snapped and the strange looking crossbow reloaded itself with a loud and intimidating 'click'.

"I'm sorry, would you get me some oil? The mechanism seems stuck." William smiled at the soldier who had ceased breathing in terror, with his hand near the hunter's shoulder. The young soldier's face turned pale as he slowly glanced down at the crossbow pointing directly at his groin.

"Go fetch him his oil." Ordered Arthur and his guard almost instantly disappeared from the room with relief on his face.

"If you wanted to speak to me, you could have just said so." Arthur shook his head in his displeasure.

"And where would be the fun in that?" The young hunter half smiled and for the first time Arthur realized how greatly he had misjudged William. The man before him had plain looks and plain, brown hair. He was wearing plain clothes, similar to those of a peasant's. His crude features did nothing to disuade his initial impression. The young hunter was the perfect visual embodiment of the words 'plain' and 'bleak'. Nothing interesting. His eyes didn't show any trace of hidden intelligence. Wiliam had been acting like a loner from day one since he had arrived in Camelot. Arthur had not considered him as a fitting partner for conversation and even less as someone able to joke, or track Merlin down.

"Valiant used magic in his duel, he summoned snakes from his shield." William focused on his crossbow once more, checking its every detail.

"What?" Gasped Arthur, confused. Maybe William was simply stupid or delusional. "Listen, you can't just-"

"If not for Merlin shadowing your every move, I wouldn't waste my time on you." William interrupted him, still silently fussing over his crossbow. Arthur felt the back of his shirt slowly beginning to soak with sweat. He was angry at this commoner behaving as though they were equals. He was also scared that William might be correct. "He used an enchanted shield. I've seen similar spells but as tattoos, not paintings." William said, ignoring Arthur's discontent.

For a moment Arthur didn't know how to react, he should be angry at this impertinent hunter. He should scold him. He should... do many things. Arthur stopped himself, these last few days with Merlin had taught him some valuable lessons. To be above his pettiness. The young prince closed his eyes, calming himself.

"I don't know if you are telling the truth, but if you are..." Arthur hesitated, his eyes still closed. "Then please help me."

"Oh." Arthur heard the other man stand up and opened his eyes. William was holding his right hand before the young prince's chest, ready to shake his. The young hunter's crossbow had been abandoned near Arthur's chair. William's eyes connected with Arthur's and Arthur slowly, hesitantly shook William's right hand. William returned the shake and skillfully lifted his heavy crossbow from the ground. "The knight who fought with Valiant before is lying in the court physician's quarters." The young hunter opened the door and Arthur realized that William wanted him to follow. The young prince caught up to William and walked beside him.

"You said you had encountered this type of magic before?" Asked Arthur, watching his silent companion.

"Yes." The young hunter slowly nodded and continued to walk without saying anything.

"Could you tell me about it?" Asked Arthur, not giving up.

"A priest animated a wolf from the tattoo on his back." William said.

"So what happened?" Asked Arthur, interested in the story. The young prince had fought in many battles, but fighting magic was different. Magic users had to be disarmed of their magic to prevent them from fighting, and usually the only way to do this would be to kill them. Many different sorcerers used a huge variety of different kinds of spells. The knowledge how to defend against these different types of spells was vitally important for the continued existance of Camelot.

William glanced at Arthur without showing any emotions. "I killed him." Arthur felt a chill going down his spine. His companion didn't even blink when talking about killing other people. Arthur was a warrior, he had killed people in battle, but he had always thought of it as a necessity. He neither favored nor feared killing. Yet the coldness he felt from the other man made him shiver. The man before him definitely wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night shaking from nightmares.

They walked inside the physician's quarters. Gaius was nowhere to be seen but one of the knights who took part in the melee was lying inside, breathing heavily under a few blankets. William moved the blankets to the side and opened the knight's shirt. Near the man's collarbone were two purple marks resembling snake bites.

* * *

"Merlin." Lady Morgana hissed, angered, her fingers tightening their grip on the bars.

Merlin facepalmed, laughing quietly before speaking.

"Morgana, this is the fifth time you've tried to catch me in the last three days." Merlin shook his head, unable to hide his smile anymore. "You know it's cute, that obsessive behaviour of yours." He smirked at her. "But I am worrying about your mental state. I thought I did protect your head when those guards were beating you."

"Merlin, release me this instant!" Morgana snapped from the small, locked cell.

"Come on Morgana, wasn't this what you had in store for me?" Merlin chuckled, "Would you rather I treat you like a lady?" Morgana's eyes flashed in anger and she made a move to retort but Merlin cut her off. "But why should I treat you like a lady when you refuse to behave like one?" Merlin sighed and sat across her, watching her. Morgana sat near metal bars and tried calming herself down.

"So now what, you will leave me here? The guards check this place every morning so-"

"Of course not." Chuckled Merlin, watching her closely.

"What?" She quickly lifted her eyes, confused. Merlin didn't give her the impression of someone who was joking. She knew how good of an actor he was, but this time he sounded genuine. What confused her was that he said it like it was obvious that he wouldn't leave her in that filthy, muddy cell. She felt her breath and her heartbeat quicken. She changed her position, agitated for some reason and kneeled before the bars, watching Merlin intensely.

"If I left you here, Uther would put you under house arrest and that would be it." Merlin smiled at her. "Your first attempts at trying to catch me were, quite frankly, insulting. Especially when you put Arthur's crown with a rope under a cage."

"Yes, and Arthur was the one who was caught." Morgana smiled, remembering how Arthur had been cursing Merlin before he realized that it was Morgana's trap. Even Uther's face had gone pale when he heard Arthur's curses from the other side of the hall. Merlin laughed with her, but for a different reason. After he realized what Morgana had been trying to do he had informed Arthur about the wherebouts of his crown, leading him to Morgana's trap.

"But later, I started to enjoy it." Merlin glanced at the ceiling, smiling to himself. He lowered his eyes again, meeting and locking with Morgana's. "You know..." He smiled at her, making her heart beat a little faster.

"Yes?" Morgana moved closer to the bars, holding her breath. Her anger disappeared and now she felt nervous. She had never met someone like Merlin. At first she thought that he was just another lowlife. Another regular thief. But Merlin showed her different, he was well mannered and well educated. After hearing about her nightmares, he had put her to sleep once with a weakened version of one of his poisons. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so relaxed after a night's sleep. He proved to not only be able to read but also to be a fluent writer, and when he wore his black and gold clothes like he did now, he looked like a prince. He was impudent enough to even accept her invitation to dinner where she had tried to knock him unconscious by contaminating the food with one of her sleeping drafts but had failed. Still, the dinner had been a very pleasant one. They had joked and laughed. Merlin surprised her back then when he started to gather the leftovers. She had joked that it was better for him take this than to steal something else, but he answered that he was taking the food for the homeless children living near the castle and she had gone quiet, ashamed.

"I feel safe with you, like playing with a kid." Merlin gave her a warm, sad smile.

"What?" Morgana's eyes widened, she gripped the bars so tight that her delicate, feminine knuckles went white. She felt hurt, ashamed and she realized her feelings for Merlin were growing. It wasn't about revenge or saving the face anymore. It was about being able to see him one more time. To be able to talk to him one more time.

"Morgana." Merlin narrowed his brows, surprised that he angered her. "Why are you so insistant on trying to kill me?"

"What?" Morgana blinked, confused.

"You're trying to catch me and present me to Uther who will definitely kill me, so catching me is the same as killing me." Explained Merlin, studying her facial expressions. Morgana opened and closed her mouth, thinking about what to say. She realized that if she wanted to connect with Merlin she needed to be sincere about what she wants. With him and with herself.

"Merlin, you are different from the other people." Morgana sighed and closed her eyes, gathering her courage. "I..." She opened her eyes and looked at him, locking her eyes with his while he was watching, tense. "I want to know you better. At first I wanted revenge for what you did to me before, but not anymore. I use this as an excuse to meet with you. To be near you and to talk with you. You are so different from the others, and I want to understand you better. I fear that now you won't meet with me anymore, now that you know the truth." She locked her eyes on his, anxiously awaiting his answer. She was vulnerable now, and he could easily hurt her. For a moment he looked like he believed her. His face became troubled and he shifted nervously in his position but then he relaxed and laughed quietly, but there was some sadness and pain in his laughter.

"You're good Morgana, you're really good." Merlin smiled at her, hiding his pain and threw her the keys to the cell. "Goodbye Morgana." He turned back and left, leaving her alone.

Morgana fell to her knees, feeling her heart sink in pain. She hid her eyes in her hands, feeling anger and hurt at the rejection, silently crying in the darkness.

* * *

**So how did you like this chapter?! Was it something you expected? Please review!**


	5. New enemy

**Please forgive me for not posting any sooner. I was in England for a few days and i've got a new responsibilities in a project i am working right now, as a game designer. I am new in the team, so i try to work hard! I promise i will try to write more and post a chapter at least once a week or two! Usually they should be here on Mondays!  
**

* * *

Gentle Thief

Chapter Four: Unexpected

Merlin chuckled as Arthur berated him with hurt eyes. Arthur had lost his fight with Valiant. Both of them had fought fiercely, and the young prince had shown great chivalry in his fight. When his opponent had lost his helm, Arthur had thrown his own away.

He had almost won, succeeding in pushing Valiant back, but in the end Valiant stopped his crude way of fighting and took advantage of the fact that he still had his shield whereas Arthur had lost his own earlier. That small advantage was all that was needed to end the fight, Arthur lost and his pride was wounded more than his body. To add insult to injury, Merlin had not let his forget about the incident, ridiculing the young prince for almost a week before he lost interest.

"Merlin, this is not funny. Valiant used magic! He's a cheater and a murderer. I can't understand why my father is enthralled by him!" Said Arthur, scowling.

"Why is using magic cheating? Magic is a skill or a tool, are you not doing the same?" Merlin asked simply as he yawned, visibly bored. He had put up with Arthur's whining for over a week and Merlin was getting tired of it. After his last encounter with Morgana, Merlin had not left the dragon's cave, instead choosing to train himself and occasionally speak to the dragon.

"Merlin, don't you see the difference?" Arthur stepped closer to Merlin, who lifted his hand, stopping him.

"Oh, spare me." Merlin looked at him angrily and Arthur froze. Merlin's anger paralyzed him, rendering him unable to move. The young prince faltered and immediately scolded himself. How could he, the prince of Camelot, fear some lowly thief? He had fought and won many battles, and yet this thief, this commoner, could give him a stare so powerful, that his instincts screamed danger. Merlin averted his eyes and Arthur took a step back, sweating as he could feel a cold chill run his spine.

"Merlin..." The young thief glanced at him, but this time Merlin's eyes were calm and encouraging. "I am alone, I need your help. So many things have been going wrong recently, Morgana almost dying, Gaius being replaced and tossed aside as though-"

"Wait, what?" Merlin stared at Arthur, who felt uneasy under Merlin's hawk-like stare.

"Gaius-" Arthur started but Merlin interrupted him before he could continue.

"Not that, Morgana almost dying?" Merlin's eyes pierced Arthur, who took another step back, and lifted his hands in a placating gesture.

"She was sick, but she is fine now. There is a new medic and he healed her in one day, it was a miracle." Arthur breathed out, relieved. "I was really worried about her." He glanced at the thief, who was lost in his thoughts.

"Alright." Merlin walked past the young prince, who blinked, confused by Merlin's actions.

"Wait, Merlin, what...?" Arthur turned after Merlin, but the thief was gone.

* * *

Edwin Muirden touched his face. He hated Uther. He hated everyone who was normal, who never had any magic. He hated those stupid people who let his family burn alive. Edwin had tried to save them by jumping inside the burning building, but it had been in vain. His family were dead and all that he was left with were hideous burns that scarred his face and body. Very few people could bear to stand in his presence, repulsed by his appearance. He had taken to wearing concealing clothing to hide his body as well as hooded cloaks to hide his gruesome face. He was overly conscious of his body and often tried to stand in a way that people were not able to get a clear look at him.

Despite his difficult life, soon everything was about to change. He had a plan that was already in motion. Edwin had delivered a deadly beetle, by way of anonymous flowers, to the king's ward, Lady Morgana. The insect had crawled into Morgana's ear and burrowed into her brain, rendering her unconscious and feverish. When the court physician was unable to diagnose or treat her, Muirden had arrived at the court to offer his services. Discreetly, he had commanded the magical beetle to come out of Lady Morgana's brain and repair any damage that had been done during its time there. The first part of Edwin's plan was complete; he had successfully ingratiated himself into the court as the new court physician. Furthermore, in doing so, he had also achieved his revenge against Gaius, the man who had betrayed his parents. Edwin's actions had caused Gaius to lose the King's favour and to be sent away in disgrace.

It was now time to initiate the second part of his plan. With Uther's newfound trust in him, Edwin would put another beetle into Uther's brain and in doing so would kill the king. This would plunge the kingdom into chaos after which he would emerge as the new leader. He had found men with magic who would form his own magical army to defeat any opposition he might face after Uther's death. Arthur would not be a problem in his plans. The prince was still young and very inexperienced. Forced to lead the country at his current age would lead Camelot to ruin. Edwin would make sure of that. He would counsel the new king and his knights. His advice would lead them to making the wrong decisions and while the rest of the country would be dismayed at their seeming incompetence, Edwin would bring plagues that would destroy Camelot from the inside.

Edwin smiled to himself and closed the door to his chambers. He walked to the broad table and froze suddenly as he realised that his beetles had disappeared from his desk. A chill went down his spine as he frantically tried to find them, but to no success. The deadly beetles were gone.

He had found them in an abandoned laboratory three years ago. The laboratory had been in ruins, ransacked and destroyed by pillagers, but some things had been left behind. A few old books and some magical artefacts, like the beetles. The books contained ancient knowledge from the order of warrior priests of the old religion. The beetles could be both used to heal and to kill. That was not all he had learned, there were other spells too. Pyromancy, sleeping spells, the art of making potions.

Unfortunately he was not able to utilise all the knowledge. He was too old; the priests had started their training at a much earlier age, having been taken away from their parents. Very few of them had lived through the training.

Edwin couldn't help but wonder why they would abandon the laboratory. At first, when he realized where he was, Edwin had been confused and scared. He was sure that someone would come after him. An ancient order like this could not have just left the laboratory and its knowledge behind for any passerby to find. Yet it was there, abandoned, unguarded, waiting. However Edwin was too smart to tempt fate. He gathered as much as he could, hid the rest and disappeared.

For the next two years he learned the forgotten knowledge, until he was ready to come to Camelot. But now that the beetles were gone from his room, he felt the same fear he had felt when he first set foot in the laboratory. Edwin realized that someone had been through his things, however it did not seem as though the culprit was searching for anything specific. Whoever it was had been careful, if not for the disappearance of the beetles he would not have suspected that anyone had been in his room.

Still, the disappearance of the beetles did not mean he could not carry out his plan. The beetles had been useful, enabling him to gain his high position at the court. He could still plot Uther's downfall.

Edwin quickly formulated a new plan, and started immediately. As court physician, it was his duty to brew Lady Morgana's sleeping draughts, he had already made a few earlier that day, and to these he now added a strong aphrodisiac. Lady Morgana was important to Uther; he treated her as though she was his own child. No doubt, he would use her marriage to create a crucial alliance in the future. But if Lady Morgana was ruined, or even better, were to bear a bastard, not only would Uther be furious but he also would not be able to use Morgana to create an alliance. No self respecting king or noble would marry a ruined woman, particularly one that had borne a child out of wedlock.

Edwin liked long term plans. If he planted many of them some were bound to hatch together at the worst possible time, causing crushing results. Edwin trashed his things and hid some of his valuables. Whoever stole his beetles would meet the king's guards. Now he needed an audience with the king and to subtly accuse someone of stealing his valuables. Perhaps Gaius would be a good person to blame. Edwin opened the doors and shouted for guards. Even with the beetles gone, he still had many aces up his sleeve.

* * *

Merlin snuck inside Morgana's chambers through the opened window. Morgana was sitting near her broad table, looking at the plate before her, playing with her fingers, lost in her thoughts. Merlin cleared his throat and Morgana turned to him, surprised and agitated. She stood up but visibly relaxed realising it was Merlin who had invaded her privacy. She turned her back to him and sat again, not wanting to see him, but craving his presence at the same time. Morgana felt anger, disappointment and, strangely enough, happiness.

She was angry, because when she opened her heart to him, Merlin pushed her away. Now that he was here with a concerned look on his face, watching her from behind, she felt happy. She realized she had feelings for him when he left her in the dark cell a week ago, alone. No matter how much she would try to forget about this young, handsome thief, she couldn't. Not as long as he was near her, a constant reminder of her feelings. Morgana considered for a few moments in silence and made a decision, it was time to end her stupid infatuation with this commoner. She stood up and turned to him, watching him with cold eyes.

"Merlin, I do not wish to see you anymore," she tried to appear nonchalant as she opened the vial with her sleeping draft and downed it. "Please leave, I wish to sleep and I will not do that while you are still here." She turned her back to him and walked to her bed.

"Morgana..." Merlin stepped to her. He did not know what to say for the first time in years. Merlin wanted to be with her like he was before. To talk to her, to tease her. But he mostly wanted to protect her. He wanted her to be safe, and so far she was not. He recognized the beetles that he had stolen from the new physician. He knew what must have happened; the new court physician had magic. What Merlin did not know was why Edwin went to all the trouble of planting a beetle in Morgana's brain to be closer to Uther. What he did know was that Arthur and Morgana were in danger.

He realized that it was the first time in a long, long time that he allowed someone to be close to him, and Merlin did not like the vulnerability he felt. It was hindering him, making him feel anxious. "Morgana, I..." Merlin stopped suddenly, when Morgana unexpectedly stepped to him and kissed him. He forgot himself in the kiss, embracing her. Her lips were soft, pleasant in touch, welcoming. Merlin had kissed before. But never before had it felt like this. Never before had he felt this much passion and intimacy. Morgana moaned as she kissed him and trembled in his arms, her hands travelling along his body, caressing his broad, muscular chest. Her kisses were sweet and pleasant. Merlin paused suddenly, leaning away. Her lips were literally sweet.

The dots connected. New court physician, deadly beetles, the draft, the euphoria, Morgana. Merlin pushed her back and took in her wide glazed pupils. Morgana was drugged.

"Merlin," she removed the space between them that Merlin had created, "I want you," she whispered to his ear and bit it playfully. She felt excited and she didn't want to hide anymore that she wanted him. She wanted him and that was the only thing that mattered in the whole world.

"Morgana, listen to me," Merlin grabbed her arms and shook them. "Morgana, you're drugged! You're only feeling like this because of the draft." Merlin looked her in the eyes and she returned the look, locking her eyes with his.

"No, I've felt like this for a long time, what I said back then was true," Morgana stepped to him, feeling excited and oddly relieved. She was able to show her feelings at last, without holding anything back. She didn't want to hide her feelings anymore, she wanted to be accepted. She wouldn't have it any other way. She felt the burning passion of his kiss and she knew that he was feeling the same. She could feel that he wanted her. She pressed herself to him, feeling his excitement. She smiled and went for a kiss, leaning towards him.

Merlin frantically stepped back, stumbling into Morgana's bed which caused him to fall on it. She moved closer and leaned towards him, closing her icy blue eyes that were brimming with excitement. Merlin crawled back on the bed, trying to get away from her. But to Morgana's drug hazed brain, she thought that he wasn't actually avoiding her, but only teasing her. She purred and crawled on the bed and on him, slowly moving on her hands and knees towards him.

"Morgana, I can't just, you..." Merlin stumbled on his words and hit the wall behind the bed with the back of his shoulders.

"Merlin, I want you to be rough with me," she whispered to his ear and Merlin froze, blinking. He had never met a woman like this. This was so dirty, so filthy and yet, so damn exciting. Her hot body on his, her lips on his neck. Everything was a blur and he wanted her. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything before. Merlin frantically tried to shake off the haze that had suddenly come over him as he realized that his contact with her lips had caused some of the effects of the draught to transfer to him.

Merlin prepared himself to be poisoned, in his line of work, it came with the trade. Merlin was used to carrying a lot of poisons around with him, and he needed to be immune to them. He also needed to be immune to traps, but in all his preparations he had never thought of being poisoned by an aphrodisiac. Only a small amount of the draught had transferred to him so he wasn't as affected as Morgana but the draught was enhancing his own desire for Morgana.

"Morgana, there will be consequences if we do this," Merlin was trying to gather his thoughts but Morgana was too much for him. She moved her body on top of his, placing her hips on his, touching his chest with her feminine hands and tracing his body muscles with her slender fingers. She looked like a goddess. Beautiful. Enticing.

"I don't care," whispered Morgana, her hands fighting his breeches.

"That does it." Merlin produced a vial with a potent sleeping potion from his right sleeve and placed it near Morgana's small nose. She breathed and fell next to him, instantly asleep.

Merlin stood up, grabbing his breeches and smallclothes that was hanging near his knees after Morgana tried to remove them and started pulling them up. Only then did he realise that someone was standing in the doorway. Gwen, Lady Morgana's handmaid, was watching him silently, her face bright red.

Merlin tensed, in his right hand he produced a different sleeping drug than the one he had used on Morgana, in the form of small breakable pellet, ready to throw it at the maid. Gwen squeaked as she saw Merlin's hand make this small movement. Gossiping about the dreamy prince of thieves and actually meeting the man were two very different things. According to gossip, Merlin was a handsome, gentle thief. In reality, when was standing before her, pulling his pants up and covering himself, while being ready to throw something at her, she realised she wasn't so thrilled to meet him anymore. She was scared. Merlin looked dangerous. The illusion of a gentle thief had been dispelled and what she now saw before her was just a man.

Gwen didn't want this man to throw anything at her. She instinctively knew better than to agitate him. So she stood at the door, careful not to move suddenly and waited, her eyes on the floor. Merlin finished pulling up his pants and turned to Gwen, who glanced at him frequently in fear.

"You didn't call for the guards." Merlin stated rather than asking as he watched her closely.

"No, I..." Gwen hesitated for a moment. "I saw Morgana act," Gwen hesitated again and glanced at Merlin, who was watching her silently, waiting for answer. "Differently." Gwen averted her eyes to the side.

"Close the doors and come inside," smiled Merlin, his right hand hiding the pellet back inside his sleeve. As he visibly relaxed, Gwen felt herself relaxing too and she closed the door. Merlin walked to the table and stood behind one of the chairs, waiting for Gwen who smiled awkwardly, not used to being treated this way. She walked to the chair and sat in it, Merlin pushing the chair behind him. She glanced at him as he walked around the table and sat across from her, watching her with a warm, calm smile. His eyes weren't scary anymore, they were nice and warm, inviting. She smiled back, still feeling anxious, not knowing why he invited her and what to think.

"How much did you see?" Asked Merlin.

"Oh, from when Lady Morgana was trying to..." Gwen paused, feeling her cheeks burn red, remembering how Morgana acted just a few moments ago.

"Gwen, may I call you Gwen?" Asked Merlin, watching for her reaction.

"Yes, of course," Gwen smiled awkwardly.

"Gwen, how come you are not anxious about your mistress?"

"Oh, you wouldn't hurt her, I know that." She smiled warmly for the first time since they had started the conversation. She looked much more calm and relaxed than before. Merlin narrowed his eyes, as he saw the visible change in Gwen's body. She relaxed and smiled to him, as though what she had just said make her feel secure.

"Lady Morgana talks about you from time to time. She thinks I don't see it but it was obvious she had met you more than once." Gwen glanced at Merlin, looking for the answer in his face. Yet Merlin's face didn't change. He was still smiling at her, watching her, but in some strange way that wasn't making her uncomfortable anymore. "And I saw how she acted just now and that you wanted to stop her. Also I know that you gave her one of the sleeping drafts. Lady Morgana never told anyone, but she had two drafts and I knew that she had met with you." Gwen glanced at Merlin, but to her disappointment his smile never wavered, not alerting to her whether or not she was right.

"You are a good friend to her," Merlin got up, still smiling.

"Oh, thank you, I do try, Lady Morgana is..." Gwen blushed, "I feel like I have always been with her..."

"Her draft had an aphrodisiac in it."

"Aphro... what?" Asked Gwen, confused.

"It is a drug that makes her act the way she acted. She would do that to any man," Merlin closed his eyes for a moment, struggling against the drug that still coursed through his bloodstream. _And I would do that to any woman._ Merlin sighed, feeling aroused. He was able to withstand Morgana's advances, but the drug was still inside his body. He was enjoying being near Morgana and he enjoyed the short talk he had with the young handmaid, but the aphrodisiac in his body was making it very uncomfortable for him to be near any woman right now. "For now it is better if she only uses the draft I will provide."

"Um... yes..." Gwen blushed again, reminded about what she had walked into, and stood up after Merlin.

"I will be back tomorrow." Merlin walked to the window wanting to go back to this young handmaid, embrace her and... He focused his mind and jumped outside the window, anxious to isolate himself away from any feminine presence for the next few hours.

* * *

**One more time, i'm sorry that it took so long! Please review how did you like this chapter? Also, i am working now on sequel, so don't worry, i won't abandon this story!  
**


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